ESPN presented a special-edition Thursday night card last night, headlined by the heavyweight match between Antonio Tarver and Johnathon Banks.
In a slow bout which didn’t see much action until Tarver went in for the kill, “The Magic Man” won via 7th round TKO, knocking Banks down and then getting the referee to make the stoppage after he immediately jumped back on Banks.
It may be time for Banks to stick to his training career with the heavyweight champ, Wladimir Klitschko. It’s safer on ringside than in the ring. As for Tarver, now 46, he wants to get into the heavyweight title mix. We’ll see about that.
On the undercard, Austin Trout continued his comeback since his one-sided loss to Erislandy Lara. Trout scored his own 7th round TKO, finishing Luis Grajeda, and registering his second consecutive win. Trout is hoping this helps to get him back into the 154 lbs scene.
We had a late entry for Robbery of the Year on this card, with Oscar Encandon somehow winning a decision against Tyson Cave. The split decision read 117-111 for Encandon, a crazy score, 115-113 for Encandon, and 115-113 for Cave.
The decision sent Teddy Atlas into a furious tirade on the sport. ESPN’s online fan scoring had voted the fight 12 rounds to 0 for Cave, for what that’s worth, while Atlas had the fight 11-1 for Cave in terms of rounds. It looks like he’ll be getting a rematch.
Two U.S. Olympians boosted their professional records. Terrell Gausha improved to 13-0 with 7 KOs, and Marcus Browne, an Atlas protege, moved to 13-0 with 10 KOs.
